Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,779 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $10,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,327,000 after acquiring an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at $27,570,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,859,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,816,000 after acquiring an additional 371,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $70.64 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $74.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.54. The firm has a market cap of $39.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 69.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLF. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.